NHL ROUNDUP: Capitals win eight straight, beat Maple Leafs

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8), from Russia, celebrates his goal as Toronto Maple Leafs center Jay McClement (11) skates behind in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 16, 2013 in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Time to start the MVP talk for Alex Ovechkin, who scored his NHL-leading 28th goal, stood up for a teammate who got rammed into the boards, and led the Washington Capitals to their eighth straight win.

The Capitals also managed to play well with a lead for a change and enjoyed a rare dominating win over a team outside their division. The 5-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night left little doubt that Washington is again a force in the Eastern Conference.

"To get a decisive win against them tonight," forward Troy Brouwer said, "it shows us that we belong where we are."

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Jack Hillen, Martin Erat, Marcus Johansson and Brouwer also scored, and Braden Holtby made 29 saves for the Capitals, who remained four points ahead of the Winnipeg Jets atop the Southeast Division with five games to play.

But it was Ovechkin who earned his captain's "C" against the Maple Leafs. There was his goal -- a one-timer from the top of the left circle during a power play. There was his assist -- a pass from nearly the same spot that was tipped in by Erat. And there was his don't-mess-with-my-linemate crash into Jay McClement after McClement knocked Nicklas Backstrom head-first into the boards in the first period.

A massive scrum ensued, but only Ovechkin was penalized -- for charging -- and the Capitals gained momentum by killing the penalty.

"You can hear the crowd, you know?" Ovechkin said. "The guys said they were going to kill it all day long."

Washington's Jason Chimera picked a fight with McClement later in the period, but coach Adam Oates and the rest of the Capitals lauded Ovechkin most for sticking up for Backstrom.

"I just step up for my teammate," Ovechkin said. "And again, I think any one of them would do the same if it were happening to me."

Ovechkin also said the team made sure to talk about the need to "play for a win" after taking a 4-0 lead. The Capitals blew a four-goal lead in their previous game and needed overtime to pull out the victory.

Put it all together, and Oates was more than ready to make the case for Ovechkin to reclaim the MVP trophy the Russian forward won in 2008 and 2009.

"I'm obviously very biased about that, so my answer would be, yeah, absolutely," Oates said. "Obviously, Sidney Crosby is another candidate, for sure. He had such a scoring lead. But I think you've got to factor in the fact that he's missed a lot of games. ... Alex has really led our team. You see it every night now."

The Capitals have been feasting on the weak Southeast, going 14-3 within the division, but they entered Tuesday's game just 9-14-2 against the rest of the East. All but two of those nine wins were by one goal.

So it was a major morale boost that they were able to manhandle Toronto, which is closing in on the franchise's first playoff berth since 2004.

The Maple Leafs had won four of five, but they looked sluggish one night after they beat the New Jersey Devils 2-0 at home on Monday. Toronto was down 4-0 to the Capitals before Mikhail Grabovski scored in the third period.

Arena workers said there were extra security patrols, specifically checking trash cans and security cameras before the building was open to the public. The huge scoreboard went dark shortly before the opening faceoff for a moment of silence.

Ovechkin, with his 19th goal in 18 games, moved two ahead of Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos in the NHL's goal-scoring race, although Stamkos pulled back within one when he scored against the Jets later in the evening.

"He's very lethal, very dynamic and energetic out there," Toronto defenseman Mark Fraser said of Ovechkin. "Everyone on the ice knows when he's on the ice, that's just his presence. ... When he's determined, he's a force to stop."

SENATORS 3, HURRICANES 2

OTTAWA (AP) -- Craig Anderson made 32 saves to help the Ottawa Senators beat the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.

Mika Zibanejad, Cory Conacher and Chris Neil all scored as Ottawa remained in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, one point ahead of the New York Islanders.

Justin Faulk and Eric Staal scored for the Hurricanes, who got 31 saves from Justin Peters.

The Senators returned to Ottawa from Boston amid tightened security measures a day after the bombings at the Boston marathon. Their game against the Bruins, postponed Monday, was rescheduled for April 28.

Ottawa defenseman Jared Cowen played his first game since undergoing hip surgery in November that was expected to end his season.

FLYERS 4, RANGERS 2

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Brayden Schenn, Erik Gustafsson and Kimmo Timonen scored to give Philadelphia's faint playoff hopes a boost, and the Flyers beat the New York Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday night for their second win in two nights.

Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored for the Rangers, who have a tenuous hold on the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers have 46 points, five more than the Flyers. With five games left, the Flyers have three teams to pass to get above the postseason cutoff.

Jakub Voracek added an empty-net goal in the final seconds to seal the victory for Philadelphia.

New York's Henrik Lundqvist was solid in net but two goals off the post doomed the Rangers.

ISLANDERS 5, PANTHERS 2

UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- Michael Grabner scored twice and Evgeni Nabokov made 26 saves as the New York Islanders moved closer to a playoff berth with a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.

Playing before a boisterous crowd at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders earned their ninth time in 12 games while playing their final regular-season home game. The Islanders, 10-11-3 at home after starting 2-8-1, will begin a season-ending, five-game trip on Thursday in Toronto.

With a 14-5-3 mark since March 1, the Islanders hold seventh place in the Eastern Conference. New York, seeing its first postseason appearance since 2007, has allowed two goals or fewer in nine straight games.

Matt Moulson, Mark Streit and Radek Martinek also scored for the Islanders, who bounced back from a 1-0 overtime loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday.

JETS 4, LIGHTNING 3

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) -- Andrew Ladd scored twice in regulation and added the decisive goal in a shootout as the Winnipeg Jets stayed in the thick of the playoff hunt with a 4-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

Ladd also earned an assist, and defenseman Zach Bogosian had a pair of assists. Blake Wheeler scored once and added two assists for Winnipeg (22-19-2), which is on a season-high, four-game winning streak.

The Jets are tied in points with the eighth-place New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Winnipeg has five games remaining, one fewer than New York.

ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Jay Bouwmeester tied the score midway through the third period, and Andy McDonald and Alex Steen scored in the shootout to lead the Blues to a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night.

Brian Elliott made 21 saves in regulation and stopped Derek Roy and Alexandre Burrows in the shootout, solidifying the Blues' chances in a tight Western Conference race. Bowmeester's goal was his first since joining the Blues in a trade-deadline deal.

Alexander Edler scored on a power play late in the second period for Vancouver. Cory Schneider made 35 saves in regulation but surrendered two goals on three shootout chances.

The Canucks played for the third time in four nights, all on the road.